Direct Marketing Group to launch charity suppression package

LONDON - DM Print, the Direct Marketing Group's data arm, has launched a suppression service for marketers in the charity sector, to improve retention and lower the cost of keeping accurate customer records.

The package, called the Charity Suppression Service, will aim to improve data suppression for registered charities by screening records against gone aways and the deceased.

DM Print said the service would operate at a lower cost than ones in the commercial sector, and allow third sector organisations to improve returns on direct and donor campaigns.

The company said that 3m adults move home and 600,000 people die every year in the UK, meaning there is a great need for accurate records.

Martin Smith, chief executive of the Direct Marketing Group, said: "Direct mail is a hugely effective fundraising tool for the third sector, however charities can be hampered by high suppression costs."

The launch of the service follows criticism by The Read Group that the charity sector is not doing enough to improve suppression records for deceased and gone away clients.

According to the group's own research, 89% of mailings by charities are not screened for gone aways -- the lowest of any sector -- equating to more than 380m mailers and £11.5m of waste.